A-17-030
NTSB Safety Recommendation — Aviation
Recommendation text
TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: Work with the Federal Aviation Administration to revise the Aeronautical Information Manual and Advisory Circular 00-45H to define standard criteria for reporting mountain wave activity in pilot weather reports (PIREPs) that include (1) consideration that not all hazardous mountain wave encounters involve turbulence; (2) airspeed fluctuation range, altitude fluctuation range, and any other information needed to adequately describe the effects of the mountain wave activity on the aircraft; (3) parameters for classifying the intensity level of the conditions for a turbulent wave encounter and a smooth wave encounter; and (4) the threshold at which the PIREP for each type of encounter (turbulent or smooth) should be coded as urgent.
In plain language (FlightFinder summary)
The National Weather Service is asked to work with the Federal Aviation Administration to revise the Aeronautical Information Manual and Advisory Circular 00-45H. The revisions should define standard criteria for reporting mountain wave activity in pilot weather reports (PIREPs), including that hazardous mountain waves can occur without turbulence, required data such as airspeed and altitude fluctuation ranges, intensity classification for turbulent and smooth waves, and thresholds for coding PIREPs as urgent.
This plain-language summary is written by FlightFinder to explain the recommendation above. It is not the official wording — the verbatim NTSB text is quoted above.
Details
| Status | Closed - Unacceptable Action |
|---|---|
| Mode | Aviation |
| Closed | Aug 15, 2023 |
| NTSB number | DCA15SR001 |
| Addressees | United States Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Weather Service |
External links
NTSB safety recommendations are advisory; addressees are not legally required to adopt them. Source: NTSB CAROL (public domain).